Minister of Youth and Sports Rachid Talbi Alami blamed, Monday, during a session at the House of Representatives the defeat of the Atlas Lions at the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) on bad luck. «Like all Moroccans, we regret the fact that Morocco left the tournament», the Minister said. «The Royal Moroccan Football Federation has set up a technical committee to determine the reasons behind this exit», he added. «The national team was the best in terms of techniques and that is what I heard from all the officials who were scared of our squad», he said. «Football giants miss penalty kicks when under pressure», he said, referring to the case of Ajax midfielder Hakim Ziyech who failed to score a penalty kick, minutes before the end of the game against Benin. The minister said that «Ziyech was called 23 times, but he refuses to answer, saying that he cannot continue in these circumstances». Speaking about the Moroccan-Dutch player, the minister said that he is «a great footballer», acknowledging his role within the team. The comments of the Moroccan Minister did not go unseen. On the same day, Ziyech responded through his Instagram account. «Next time (…) come up with something that is true no lies», Ziyech wrote in an Instagram post with a photo of the minister and clown emojis. For the record, the Atlas Lions left Egypt after they lost to Benin, Friday.
